In an ever-changing world, the delivery and approach of Sheridan’s research, innovation and entrepreneurship (RIE) continues to evolve into newer, more impactful ways of working with industry and community partners.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, Sheridan has leveraged innovative thinking and methods around practical and sustainable RIE solutions. This has helped the college forge new and diverse partnerships across different sectors, particularly with community-based and not-for-profit organizations. Sheridan’s increasing priority on social innovation has supported partners with outside-of-the-box thinking to deliver meaningful societal and economic benefits in the community.

“Research has experienced an incredible transformation at Sheridan over the past couple of years, largely due to the partnership growth we’ve seen with community and industry organizations,” said Dr. Vicki Mowat, Director, Research at Sheridan. “Sheridan has always had a strong reputation in the community. Our partners continue to approach us for high-tier innovation support with our amazing faculty, students and facilities, but they also know we’re the right partner to help them imagine and incubate these big ideas that can one day make an impact in our world.”

Sheridan’s recent top ranking for research partnerships in the 2021 edition of Research Infosource Inc.’s annual summary, Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges, is strong evidence that industry and community partners continue to look to Sheridan for innovation support. With cutting-edge RIE activities across five Faculties and six renowned Research and Incubation Centres, Sheridan continues to respond to its partners, bringing valued interdisciplinary expertise to develop practical and novel solutions.

A few recent highlights of research projects and partnerships at Sheridan over the past year:

Virtual Life Skills Development

In partnership with Halton Region, the Oakville Community Foundation and 14 not-for-profit community organizations, Dr. Sara Cumming, professor from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, is leading a three-year project that will design, develop, and implement a virtual life skills program for marginalized or precariously housed individuals in Halton. The program will teach life skills including financial literacy, food literacy, health, wellness, and more.

Integrating Creative Content and Digital Technology

With the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet of Canada and the UK’s Royal Opera House, Sheridan’s Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT) provided expertise in the integration of creative content and digital technologies within the arts. SIRT’s Digital Stage project is exploring new, collaborative approaches to digital technology to deepen engagement with audiences, share performance art with the world, and innovate business processes.

Building Resilience in Small Business Owners

Garrett Hall and Dr. Sujinda Hwang-Leslie, professors from Sheridan’s Pilon School of Business, partnered with Sheridan’s EDGE Entrepreneurship Hub on the Building Small Business Resilience (BSBR) research project. The BSBR project enhances the digital marketing capabilities of small business owners who pivoted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project also aims to create a research-informed digital marketing program prototype to increase equitable, diverse, and inclusive participation in small business sectors.

Interested in partnering with Sheridan? Please connect with us by visiting research.sheridancollege.ca.